Classic service and style never gets old at Cork & Cleaver

Carnivores can rejoice at the old-school offerings that delight at this eastern suburbs favourite

Cork & Cleaver owner Stratos Pouras in 1994. The restaurant turned 40 this year. Photo: Dennis Rogers

FORTY years. Wow, that’s rare and mighty innings for a restaurant in Adelaide. “Plus two months”, chimes Stratos Pouros proudly, of the exceptional anniversary.

The 81-year-old restaurateur, one of life’s lovely gentlemen, still works the floor of Cork & Cleaver, open weekday lunches and six nights.

Fillet steak, Morton Bay bugs & prawns wrappe in bacon with béarnaise sauce at the Cork & Cleaver

His American steakhouse-meets Mediterranean-mix restaurant thrives, with an old-school formula of quality food (on heated plates), and finer dining-style service.

The corporate crowd flocks to the classic steak lunches, and by night the tables fill with regular locals, meat lovers, and, we even encounter tourists who’ve been steered to “reliably good food, nicely done”.

We sit in a time-warp dining room, impeccably maintained. We are cosied by the warm colours and acoustics, conversing about the art and two giant quirky centre-stage brass palm trees, and, we’re charmed by the attention.

Stratos sends a gift of his signature meatballs to every table, to share while pondering the menu, printed on giant blunted cleavers.

To start, curls of salt and pepper squid are tender, crisp, and are a big enough batch to share. The seafood soup is a deeply flavoured American chowder, smokey from good bacon in the hearty white-sauced broth and chunk-full of seasonal catch.

Sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce

Maître d’ Jimmy Boutsis gives us the tip that the rib-eye is particularly good tonight. So is the juicy Surf & Turf fillet steak topped with bacon-wrapped bugs and prawns, and, the Ship & Shore with prawns and an all-comfort creamy garlic sauce. Next time we’ll try house specialties prepared at your table, the signature steak tartare, or a tender chateaubriand for two.

We know desserts follow the hearty theme, so four spoons are ordered with a mod and pretty Italian meringue, fruit and triple-cream concoction evoking memories of knickerbocker glories, and, an “icky sticky date” pud that’s somehow light, enjoyably not so, so rich, nor overly sweet. It’s been a blast from the elegant past, yes, but good food and service never get old.